Chinese accused of being in possession of Sh8.2 million ivory stash out on bail

A shipment of Ivory nabbed by authorities. [PHOTO: FILE]

Nairobi, Kenya: Two Chinese nationals accused of being in possession of wildlife trophies have been released on bond of Sh5 million each at Kibera Law Courts.

This is after the two, Gao Jian Gung; Wang Tao changed the plea yesterday and denied the charges before Kibera magistrate Ann Oginjo.

On Friday the two had pleaded guilty to all charges but yesterday they said that they had not understood the charges read to them on Friday.

Gao Jian Gung, Wang Tao and their co-accused Mark Joseph Mabonga were accused that on June 18 this year at around 7 pm at the JKIA Barrier in Embakasi within Nairobi county, they were found in possession of 41 Kilograms of worked elephant ivory valued at Sh8.2 million.

The prosecutor said the accused were arrested with the ivory inside a Toyota car as they planned to sneak it out of the country.

The three also faced an additional count of dealing in game trophies without a valid license as required by the law. Their co-accused Mark Joseph Mabonga on the contrary had denied the charges and was released on a bond of Sh5 million and an additional of one Kenyan surety.

They were also ordered to report to court once a month and to present one Kenyan surety each.

The case against all the accused will be heard on June 30. The accusation of the three adds to the growing list of Chinese nationals who have been charged with the illegal trade and poaching.

In January last year, GU Guisheng, Qu Rongjun, Lu Xuefeng, and Wang Chengbang, were detected and seized by a joint security team from the Kenya Airports Police Unit, Kenya Revenue Authority as they attempted to sneak with ivory out of the country.

The four were found in possession of assorted pieces of ivory products comprising of five pendants, 23 bangles, a pen holder, 28 beaded bangles, 40 chopsticks, six necklaces, five pieces of worked ivory and two pieces raw ivory weighing 9.6kgs.

They were booked at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport Police Station awaiting arraignment in court.

Within the same month, three other Chinese nationals and a Kenyan driver were  arraigned in a Naivasha Court over the smuggling of a dead spitting cobra snake from Hells Gate National Park. They denied the charges of illegal possession of government trophy and failing to report to KWS. They were released on a cash bail of Ksh10,000 each.

In yet another related case within the same month, a magistrate at the Makadara Law Courts ordered five suspected ivory smugglers holding Vietnamese passport to remain in police custody. They are yet to be convicted.

Earlier this month the Government insisted that it has not lost the battle against poaching, resisting calls from wildlife activists for the ongoing slaughter of elephants and rhinos to be declared a national disaster.